


Postgraduate Studies

by akire_yta



Series: prompt ficlets [407]
Category: The Martian (2015), Thunderbirds
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-27
Updated: 2016-12-27
Packaged: 2018-09-12 13:37:17
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 403
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9074299
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/akire_yta/pseuds/akire_yta
Summary: preludeinz asked: John Tracy meets Mark Watney, Reprise <3 The first part of this verse was waaaay back at number one here





	

It’s been years since John was that too-old young kid in the front row of Mark Watney’s Space Survival and Rescue 101, and a lot has changed.

John most of all.

He’s not a kid anymore, though he’s more often than not still the youngest expert in the room.  He’s logged more consecutive hours in space than perhaps the Ares crew themselves, and had to fall back on Mark’s training to give Death the middle finger more than once.

It’s because of Mark that he’s here now; Mark’s approaching an age when his retirement will cease to be a request and will soon be a demand from the main administration, but until that day, Mark seemed hell-bent on continuing to teach.

It’s how ‘Dr Watney’ became ‘Mark’ in the first place, the teacher constantly checking in with the progress of his student until it felt less like teaching and more like mentoring, and then mostly like friendship.

This group is smaller than the classes that pack auditoriums every semester to take their first lesson from the master.  These students are less overawed by Mark and there are no space groupies here.  That said, the class still drinks up every word, their eyes bright and their attention attuned like a laser as Mark welcomes them into the Advanced Space Rescue module.

John isn’t prepared for them to turn that look on him as Mark waves in his direction.  “And since Dr Beck is a rat bastard and managed to secure a sabbatical,” and that got a laugh.  “I’ve arranged a guest to come co-teach some segments, so please welcome my best student and colleague, John Tracy.”

John was ready for blank looks – his name wasn’t the one written in bold around the world.  He’s thrown a little by the way the students nudge each other, eyes wide in dawning recognition.

The girl in the front row, not quite as young as he was back then, gives him a respectful, slightly awed nod.  John returned it on instinct, unprepared for how old it was making him feel to have these students, most of them about his own age, looking at him like this.

Mark gave John a gentle nudge as he passed by on his way back up to the lecturn.  “Now, this class is designed to help you help others when everything else goes to shit.”

John picked up his cue.  “So let’s begin.”


End file.
